What’s the Deal with Featured Snippets?

What’s the Deal with Featured Snippets?

Google has no shortage of ways to put your business front and
center in the SERPs, including popular methods like Google AdWords. It’s not a
surprise that companies are investing in these opportunities; paid placements
and other such alternatives are cannibalizing organic search results, putting
those who solely prioritize SEO at a distinct disadvantage.

However, not all chances to get ahead require payment. Here’s
what you need to know about featured snippets — and why they’re good for your business.

What Are Featured Snippets?

If you’ve ever Googled a common question, like searching for the
lead actor in a movie or looking up the date of a historical event, you’ve
likely come in contact with featured snippets. These appear in the form of a
text box or, if relevant, a video clip, with information directly relevant to a
user’s question pulled from credible websites around the net. Any common
question generally yields a snippet, putting the chosen site effectively in
position zero. Some searches yield a single snippet, while more complicated
asks can result in a main snippet and several smaller snippets further down the
page under the heading “people also ask.”

Snippets are exceptionally
valuable tools, putting your site immediately at the top of the search engine
results and drastically improving visibility. The effects of this are clear;
clickthrough rates for featured snippets are over two times higher than that of
organic results. The catch? There’s no way to guarantee that your site will
result in a snippet and there’s no way to pay for the honor.

The Logic Behind Snippets

For businesses eager to get their content at the top of a Google
search, featured snippets can be a great way to accomplish this. However, the
presence of snippets isn’t an opportunity that can be bought. Instead, Google
uses its own algorithms to determine which avenues are the most valuable.

The purpose of snippets is to answer common questions with
readily available information to save users time and reduce the need to click
on links. As a boost to user experience rather than business success, snippets
serve Google searchers primarily, with only those chosen seeing the benefits.

Increasing Your Odds

Google tends to keep its algorithms under lock and key, including
the logic that drives snippets. However, some basic SEO principles can increase
your chances of appearing in this desirable page-topping position.

The objective behind snippets is to answer common or easily
comprehensible questions, so be sure your site addresses as many of these as
possible. Consider how searchers would ask common questions related to your
business — for example, if you run an auto parts business, something like
“when do I need new tires?” or “what are signs of engine problems?”
may be relevant topics to include in your content. By using questions in the
headers on your website, incorporating as many relevant keywords as possible,
and employing buyer personas to identify common searches, you can increase your
likelihood of seeing results. If you’re not sure where to start, consider
looking at competitors’ content or searching common question sites like Quora
to gauge popular queries related to your industry.

If for some reason you do not want your site content appearing
in snippets, adding the html tag <meta name=“googlebot“
content=“nosnippet“> into your header can prevent Google from co-opting part
of your page.There’s no way to guarantee
a spot in Google’s featured snippets but the right approach to framing your
site content can help. If you want to increase your odds and improve rankings
across the board, RivalMind can revamp your strategy and help you see a boost
in both traffic and leads. Contact us today to learn more about
our SEO services.